chapter 18: ranching & farming - weebly414 chapter 18 ranching & farming compared to what...

Why It MattersVast grasslands and the number of wild cattle in southern and western Texas

made possible the development of the Cattle Kingdom. These resources

provided some Texans with wealth when the state was struggling with

economic problems.

The Impact TodayAlthough the era of the cattle drives lasted only a few years following the Civil War,

the cowboy culture, formed by a blending of Mexican and Anglo traits, continues to

fascinate people.

410 CHAPTER 18 Ranching & Farming

1869

• First transcontinental railroad completed

1853

★ King Ranch established

1850 1855 1860 1865 1870

Ranching& Farming

1866

★ Major cattle drives to Sedalia began

1880s

★ Ranchers began to usebarbed wire fences

411CHAPTER 18 Ranching & Farming

PRE-WAR POST-WAR

CattleRanching

in TexasFarmingin Texas

PRE-WAR POST-WAR

CattleRanching

in Texas

Civi

l War

Civi

l War Farming

in Texas

Step 1 Fold one sheet of paper in half from topto bottom.

Step 2 Fold it in half again, from side to side.

Step 3 Unfold the paper once and label yourfoldable as shown.

Step 4 Cut up the fold of the top flap only.

This cut willmake two tabs.

Compare-Contrast Study Foldable

Make this foldable to help you analyze informationby comparing and contrasting pre-war and post-war ranching and farming in Texas.

Reading and Writing As you read the chapter,write what you learn about cattle ranching beforethe Civil War and farming after the war under theappropriate tabs of your foldable. Think abouthow ranching and farming influence the economyand culture of Texas today, and also note this onyour foldable.

The Stampede by Robert Lindneux captures the excitement and

tension of horses and cattle on the run.

TEXASHISTORY

Chapter Overview

Visit the texans.glencoe.comWeb site and click onChapter 18—Chapter

Overviews to previewchapter information.

1883

• National time zones standardized

1885

• Indian National Congress established

1885

★ XIT Ranch established

1880 1885 18901875

1889

• Oklahoma Land Rushoccurred

1875

• First roller skating rink opened in London

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/ushistory/tx2003/content.php4/673/1


First cattle drive toSedalia, Missouri

End of trail driving

Origins of theCattle Kingdom

Guide to Reading

Main Idea

As farming and railroads developed,the days of the open range ended,and the cowhand image became animportant part of American culture.

Key Terms

open range, vaquero, ranchero,tallow, stockyard, drive, drover,

wrangler, quarantine

Reading Strategy

Locating Information As you readthis section, create a chart like theone shown and fill in the missinginformation.

Read to Learn

• who brought the first cattle to Texas.• what made the cattle industry turn

profitable after the Civil War.• about the cattle drives.

Section Theme

Economic Factors The value of cattlechanged due to supply and demandand the arrival of railroads.

Richard King buys SantaGertrudis, later named King Ranch

Preview of Events

Many African Americans, including Tom Mills, chose to live in West Texas

after the Civil War. He came from Alabama and became a cowhand on a

ranch in Uvalde County. “That was the life I loved . . . We had the choicest of

meats, we parched our own coffee, we drank from our own hats, we broke

our own horses and done our own fightin’! We had the coffee pot hangin’

’round the hoss’ neck. But we had fun, I can tell you!”

—Tom Mills, WPA Oral History

✦1853 ✦1866 ✦1886

Trail Name Where It Ended

Abilene, Kansas

Great WesternTrail

Colorado

The Spanish Introduce Cattle

The cattle first brought to America arrived on the ships of Spanishexplorers in the 1500s. Some of the cattle escaped from the range, andherds of wild cattle eventually grazed throughout parts of Texas.

African American cowhand

Spanish settlers brought more cattle into thearea of South Texas in the 1690s. By the late1700s, two Spanish missions near Goliadtogether contained 25,000 head of cattle.Spaniards built cattle ranches along the RioGrande, San Antonio, and Nueces Rivers. Theclimate, abundant water supply, and nutritiousgrass made Texas ideal cattle country.

The first Spanish cattle were tall, rangy, hardyanimals that survived and multiplied in thesemi-arid brush country. They had horns thatgrew six feet or more across. In time, ranchersbred these cattle with other types, giving rise tothe famous Texas longhorns.

Raising cattle began on the open range, public land that could be used by anyone.Vaqueros, or cowhands, herded and drove cattleinto pens they called corrales. Cattle were thenbranded with a hot iron to show ownership. Thebrands of early Spanish rancheros, or ranchers,were large designs. Later Anglo Americanbrands were simpler and often were developedfrom the initials of the rancher or the name ofthe ranch. Spanish ranchers often drove herds tomarket in Louisiana.

Identifying What about Texas

geography made the region ideal cattle country?

Early Ranchers Use the Open Range

Anglo American ranchers moved from thesouthern United States into the Gulf Coastregion of southeast Texas, the Piney Woods ofEast Texas, and the Red River region in north-east Texas. Ranchers who moved into Texasbefore the Civil War already were accustomed tomany practices of the open range. However,they had not relied on horses, developed ropingskills, worn chaps, or used saddles equippedwith horns. They quickly adopted these waysand often used Spanish terms for equipmentand practices. The popular image of the cow-hand had its origin with the Spanish andMexican vaqueros.

The ranching industry in South Texas flourished in the late 1700s and early 1800s,especially between the Nueces and the Colorado

Rivers. Mexican rancheros in the region south of the Nueces River continued to operate large ranches after the Texas Revolution and thewar with Mexico. Anglo American ranchers later claimed some of their lands. Richard King,a native New Yorker, came to Texas with MifflinKenedy during theMexican–AmericanWar. By 1850 they hadbecome partners in asteamboat businesson the Rio Grande. In1853 King bought theSanta Gertrudis, anold Spanish landgrant of 15,500 acres in the southern Gulf Coastarea, from the widow of Juan Mendiola.Eventually this holding would become thefamous King Ranch south of the Nueces River.

Although the cattle continued to multiply,early Anglo ranchers still faced many challenges.Theft and drought were common. The majorproblem, however, was the lack of markets. Texasranchers knew well a basic principle of free enter-prise: a product without a market is of little value.

Most cattle were slaughtered for their hidesand tallow, or fat, which could be shippedeasily. These products brought little profit


King Ranch

Laredo

Nueces R.

History Through Art

On the Trail by J.L.T. Gentilz Cattle driving on the openrange began in Spanish Texas. Vaqueros branded andcontrolled the herds. How did Spanish brands differfrom later Anglo brands?


compared to what beef would bring in an east-ern city. Some cattle were driven to Louisiana,Missouri, Ohio, and California in the 1840s and1850s in an effort to find better markets.

Trail Driving Opens the

Cattle Market

Several changes made trail driving profitablejust after the Civil War. Cattle herds, neglectedduring the Civil War, roamed wild on the plainsand multiplied. While the price of cattle in theSouthwest was about $4 a head, people in theNorth and East paid $30 to $40 a head.

The expansion of the railroads after the CivilWar played a major role in Texas’s cattle indus-try. Texas ranchers needed to get their cattle toChicago and St. Louis stockyards, or holdingpens. When the railroads expanded westward,ranchers saw their opportunity. They woulddrive, or move, the cattle in large herds to the

railroad towns, which were connected to thestockyards by rail.

Trail driving was very economical. Twelve orfewer cowhands could drive more than 2,000head of cattle at a cost lower than $1 per head.The longhorns were driven north in the spring,when grass was plentiful, so the animals couldfeed off the natural vegetation.

Examining How did the railroads

increase profits for the cattle industry?

Drovers Follow Major Cattle Trails

In the spring of 1866, about 260,000 head ofcattle were rounded up in Texas and drivennorth—many to Sedalia, Missouri, where therailroad ended. The cattle path became knownas the Sedalia or Shawnee Trail. All along thetrail, drovers, or people who move cattle, foundtrouble. Missouri farmers complained that the

The King Ranch in southern Texas calls itself “the birthplace of

American ranching.” Richard King (left) first started the cattle ranch in

1853. The King brand (above right) became a well-known symbol.

Today, the King Ranch produces cattle, leather goods, citrus, and grains.

The ranch also breeds quality quarter horses and thoroughbreds that

attract numerous buyers (bottom right). Visitors to the King Ranch

Museum (bottom left) learn about the

history of ranching in Texas.

2000 kmAlbers Equal-Area projection

2000 mi.

N

S

EW

40°N

35°N

30°N

100°W105°W

110°W

95°W

Gulf ofMexico

RioG

rande

RioB

ravo

Neuces R.

Pecos R.

Colorado R.

Brazos

R.

SabineR

.

Red R.

Arkansas R.

Missouri R.

Mississippi R.

M E X I C O

UTAH TERRITORY COLORADO

TERRITORY

NEW MEXICO TERRITORY

TEXAS

LOUISIANA

ARKANSASUNORGANIZEDTERRITORY

MISSOURIKANSAS

NEBRASKAIOWA

ARIZONATERRITORY

MISS.ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLA.

S.C.

N.C.

VA.

TENNESSEE

KENTUCKY

ILLINOIS INDIANA

OHIO

W. VA.

MICHIGANWISCONSIN PA.

DAKOTA TERRITORYIDAHO

TERRITORYWYOMING TERRITORY

El Paso

Albuquerque

Santa Fe

Pueblo

Denver

Cheyenne Ogallala

Dodge City

Ellsworth Abilene

OmahaCouncil Bluffs

SedaliaTopeka

Baxter Springs

Houston

Dallas

Fort Worth

XIT Ranch

JA Ranch

BugbeeRanch

MatadorRanch

WallaceRanch

FortBelknap

Fort Concho

Kerrville

Laredo

Randado Ranch

King Ranch

Victoria

San Antonio

Austin

Kansas City

Goodnight–Loving Trail

Great Western Trail

Chisholm Trail

Sedalia (Shawnee) Trail

Railroad

Ranch

Fort

Texas Cattle Trails, c. 1870


herds destroyed their crops. The farmers alsowere afraid that the Texas cattle had a diseaseknown as Texas Fever. The longhorns wereimmune to the disease, but the ticks they carriedspread the deadly disease to other cattle. Angryfarmers blocked the trails by building fencesand barricades.

Joseph G. McCoy, from Illinois, devised away to get cattle to market. McCoy persuadedthe railroads moving westward to build townswith everything necessary to house drovers andtheir herds. He then persuaded Texas drovers toturn their cattle drives farther west to avoidMissouri. Thereafter, the drovers used theChisholm Trail and headed their cattle for the newly built towns. For a time the trail—named after the Native American trader Jesse

Chisholm—was the most popular cattle trail. Itbegan in South Texas; headed north past Austin,Waco, and Fort Worth; crossed the Red Rivernear Nocona; and ran north to Abilene, Kansas.

The drovers later used the Great WesternTrail, which was formed at Kerrville where theMatamoros Trail from Brownsville met the OldTrail from Castroville. It ran northward throughFort Griffin near present-day Albany, crossedthe Red River, and headed northwest to DodgeCity, Kansas. The Goodnight–Loving Trailmoved cattle to the ranges of New Mexico,Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. It ran westfrom north central Texas along the MiddleConcho River, turned north along the PecosRiver at Horsehead Crossing, and continuednorthward into Colorado.

The cattle trails from Texas led torailroads that then transported thecattle to stockyards and cities tothe east.Identifying Location Whatwere the starting and endingpoints for the four cattle trails onthe map? (Note: You will findmultiple ending points.)


Life Along the Trail Drives

The days, which began at sunup, were longand hard. Two especially skillful cowhands rodein front of the herd to lead the cattle. Othercowhands rode on each side of the herd, whiletwo or three had the dusty drag position behindthe herd. A brief noon meal interrupted the day’stravel, which ended just before sundown. Thechuck wagon cook was called a “coosie,” fromthe Spanish word for a male cook “cocinero,” or attimes was referred to as “cookie,” “old lady,” or“gut robber.” He was usually an aging cowhandhired for his ability to drive a wagon rather thanhis culinary skills. He was paid more than theother hands because the success of the camp andthe drive depended greatly on him.

The distance traveled each day was usually 10 to 12 miles (17 to 19 km). At night the cowhandstook turns “riding herd.” This meant that theyeach stood guard to prevent stampedes or raidsby Native Americans or rustlers. Though con-frontations with Native Americans were seldomviolent, trail drivers often had to pay tolls tocross the Indian territory. The tolls were usuallypaid in the form of old, tired cattle that could notkeep up with the rest of the herd.

The size of the herd could vary considerably.Sometimes only a few hundred head of cattle

were driven. Herds of 2,000 to 3,000 were alsocommon. For herds of this size, usually 8 to 12cowhands were needed, plus a trail boss, a cook,and a wrangler, or ranchhand, to take care of thehorses. Each cowhand had several horses becausethe same horse usually could not work every day.

The cattle towns of Kansas were rowdy placeswhere cowhands “let off steam” after beingpaid. Many cowhands wisely saved their wagesso they could buy a ranch of their own.

Charles Goodnight, one of the best knowndrovers, later wrote of the difficulties and dan-gers involved in trail driving:

“On my first drive across the ninety-six-mile

desert that lies between the Pecos and the

Concho Rivers, I lost three hundred head of cat-

tle. We were three days and nights crossing this

desert, and during this time we had no sleep or

rest, as we had to keep the cattle moving all the

time in order to get them to the river before

they died of thirst. I rode the same horse for the

three days and nights, and what sleep I got was

on his back.”

Cowhands relax around the chuck wagon after working cattle.Meals were usually hearty. About how many miles did thecowhands travel in one day?

History

Trail driving ended shortly after 1885. Thesupply of cattle became greater than thedemand for them, so cattle prices fell. The lowprices meant that cattle drives were no longerprofitable. Barbed wire fences more frequentlyblocked the drovers’ paths. Cattle that were sus-pected of carrying disease were kept out ofKansas and Missouri by quarantine (enforcedisolation) laws, making trail driving almostimpossible. By the late 1800s, railroads werebuilt in Texas, eliminating the need for longcattle drives.

Ranching Fact and Fiction

Although the era of open range cattle ranch-ing was brief, the cowboy became an importantfigure in art, literature, music, and movies. Somany stories were penned about ranching thatit is sometimes difficult to separate myth fromreality.

At least two Texas cowboys publishedaccounts of ranching based on experience ratherthan imagination. Andy Adams in The Log of aCowboy (1903) and Charles Siringo in A TexasCow Boy, or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of aSpanish Pony (1885) told stories based on theiryears as working cowhands. The reality of ranch-ing was that it was hard, unglamorous work.Cowhands worked long hours. During roundups

and trail drives, they often spent 18 hours a dayin the saddle. Yet when winter came, many foundthemselves unemployed. They survived bydoing odd jobs in the nearest towns or by shoot-ing wolves for bounty. (Wolves were killedbecause they attacked cattle.)

The typical cowboy was young and single—and poor. A fortunate few made money by per-forming in rodeos, but these were the luckyexceptions. Nearly one-sixth of all cowhands ofthis period were Mexican or Mexican American.Others were African American.

Analyzing What factors led to the

end of cattle drives after 1885?


Checking for Understanding

1. Using Key Terms Explain the dif-ference between a drover and awrangler. Use the terms drive andstockyard in your explanation.

2. Reviewing Facts Why was South Texas considered ideal cattle country?

Reviewing Themes

3. Economic Factors What changesmade cattle ranching profitableafter the Civil War?

Organizing to Learn

4. Sequencing Create a time line like the one shown, and place thefollowing events in correct order:

a. Cattle raised on ranches.b. Farmers along cattle trails feared

Texas Fever.c. Spanish explorers brought cattle

to Texas.d. Early ranchers used the open

range.

Critical Thinking

5. Decision Making Why would aMissouri farmer decide to fence his crops?

Identifying Two primary sources relating to life as a cowhand are men-tioned. Many movies have been madeabout life on the open range. Is amovie a primary or secondary source?Do movies give accurate information?

The cattle drives of the 1870s and 1880swere only one of several changes thatdramatically altered America’s diet. Breakfastcereals became common. Improvements incanning kept many foods from spoiling.Refrigerated rail cars carried fruits andvegetables to all parts of the country.Gustavus Swift had the idea of shipping beef by refrigerated rail cars.

418 CHAPTER 00 Chapter Title

Why Learn This Skill?

When studying history, it is important to learn howto make generalizations, or general statements, frommany facts and details. Making generalizations letsyou use your knowledge of specific situations tounderstand larger concepts.

Learning the Skill

To make generalizations, follow these steps:

• Identify the subject matter.• Gather facts and examples related to this subject.• Identify similarities or patterns and form general

ideas.• Test your generalizations against other facts

and examples.

Practicing the Skill

Read the passage below and the generalizationsabout the life led by a cowhand. Then answer thequestions that follow.

“On one occasion we gathered eleven

hundred cattle . . . [I]t fell my lot to be placed

between the [strays] and the herd, which is a

very hard place. One old wild cow . . . tried to

run over me and get aback into the herd . . .

I ran that old heifer for thirty minutes. All at

once she made a break . . . I slapped my

spurs into Grand Pap and wheeled around to

head her off when my saddle turned under

his belly and I fell . . . Jack and the boys came

running to me . . . They fixed my saddle and I

went on duty again . . .

“At sundown the

cook prepared supper,

which consisted of chili

beans . . . fried calf

meat, . . . biscuit bread, . . .

black coffee, stewed dried

apples, and molasses.”

—Mrs. Jack Miles,

Texas Cowboys: Memories of the Early Days

Generalizations About Cowboy Life:

• Cowboys were excellent riders.• Cowboys looked after the cattle no matter what.• Cowboys ate very little fresh fruit, vegetables, or

dairy products.• Cowboys cooked their own meals.

1Which of the generalizations above are supportedby the details in this passage?

2Write one or two statements that support eachgeneralization mentioned in Question 1.

3Which of the generalizations are not supported bythe passage? Explain.

Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking

Making Generalizations Think about each memberof your family. In what ways are they the same? Thinkabout some positive qualities they all share. What aresome generalizations you can make about them?

Glencoe’s Skillbuilder Interactive Workbook, Level 1, provides instruction and practice in keysocial studies skills.


Making Generalizations

On a cattle drive

Guide to Reading

Most open rangesare fenced in

The Days of the Big Ranches

Guide to Reading

Main Idea

Large cattle ranches spread through-out West Texas and the Panhandle,but open-range ranches declined asranchers fenced their lands.

Key Terms

mustang

felony

Reading Strategy

Problem Solving As you read thissection, complete a chart like the onebelow, showing the invention thatsolved the problem.

Read to Learn

• about the big ranches.• about the use of barbed wire.• about Europeans in ranching.

Section Theme

Continuity and Change Hugeranches formed, new types of ranch-ing spread, and farming developed.Mexican Americans contributed tothese changes.

Charles Goodnight andJohn Adair establish JA Ranch

Preview of Events

A cowhand had to have a good horse. Wild horses called “mustangs,” from

the Spanish mesteño, roamed South Texas. According to cowhand Tom Mills,

mustangs were so wild that a cowhand could rarely get close enough to lasso

one. “There used to be lots of wild hosses in that country below Pearsall. It was

open country down there and there was thousands of mustangs runnin’ over

that sand . . . About the most vicious hoss I ever rode tried to eat me up . . .

This horse would reach around and bite my legs. I sure had to watch ’im.”

✦1876 ✦1883

Big Ranches Bring Big Profits

Huge ranches sprawled throughout South Texas and on the rangelandsto the north. When Richard King died in 1885, his ranch included 614,000acres of land and tens of thousands of cattle, horses, mules, and sheep.

Problem Solution

Cattle herds trampled crops

Fences blocked access to water

Mustangs


King’s former partner, Mifflin Kenedy, hadestablished another ranch of several hundredthousand acres. Henrietta King and King’s son-in-law, Robert Kleberg, expanded the KingRanch to more than 1 million acres and 100,000head of livestock by 1925.

After the buffalo were wiped out and NativeAmericans were removed from the GreatPlains, West Texas and the Panhandle becameopen to ranchers. In 1876 Charles Goodnightand an Irishman named John Adair establishedthe JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon. A formerTexas Ranger, scout, and military guide,Goodnight also proved to be a skilled rancher.The partners expanded their holdings to 1 mil-lion acres (405,000 hectares) and more than100,000 cattle. Goodnight experimented withcrossbreeding his cattle and raised some of thebest beef cattle in the United States. MollyGoodnight rescued and raised baby buffalo leftto die by commercial hunters, ultimately pro-ducing the Goodnight buffalo herd.

Also in 1876, Thomas Bugbee began herdingcattle on the Canadian River in the Panhandle. Helater moved south and built his Shoe Bar Ranchinto a spread of 450,000 acres (183,000 hectares). In1878, H.H. Campbell and others founded one of

the most famous of the large ranches, theMatador, in the rugged country to the east of theHigh Plains in present-day Motley County.

The high profits of ranching attracted theattention of outside investors. The MatadorRanch was bought by the Matador Land andCattle Company of Dundee, Scotland. The XIT,the largest ranch of the period, was financed inpart by British investors. The state of Texas hadgranted the 3,000,000-acre (1,215,000-hectare)ranch to a Chicago company originally. Inreturn, the company promised to build a newstate capitol in Austin. To finance the building ofthe capitol, and to develop the ranch, the com-pany turned to British investors.

Drawing Conclusions In what way

did ranching play a part in building the state capitol in Austin?

Mustangers Catch Wild Horses

Horses also were valuable products on theranching frontier. Catching and training mustangs, the hardy wild horses of the west-ern plains, was the occupation of the mus-tangers—many of whom were MexicanAmerican. The mesteños, or mustangs, werewild descendants of horses brought by theSpaniards. Before the Civil War, mustangerscaptured large numbers of wild horses, tamedthem, and sold them to the U.S. Army or toranchers. J. Frank Dobie wrote about anAfrican American mustanger by the name ofBob Lemmons:

“The most original mustanger I ever met or

heard of was an ex-slave named Bob Lemmons

. . . He always mustanged alone . . . After locat-

ing a bunch, he made no effort to keep up with

it. He followed tracks . . . After he began follow-

ing a herd of mustangs, he changed neither

horse nor clothing until he led the herd into a

pen. This was to keep the mustangs from get-

ting a “foreign” scent . . . Within a week the

herd he was after would usually allow him to

direct their course.”

Almost one-sixth of the cowhands during this time wereAfrican American or Mexican American. How does thisinformation relate to Hollywood movie portrayals of cowhands?

History

Selling wild mustangs was an important part of the livestock industry of West Texas untilthe 1870s. After that, the expansion of cattle ranch-ing significantly reduced the number of mustangs.

The Sheep Industry Booms

Sheep raising became an important part ofthe ranching industry about the time thatcatching mustangs was no longer profitable.Sheep had been raised, mostly in South Texas,for many years. There, colonists bred heavysheep from the East with the lighter Mexicanvariety. This doubled the sheep’s weight andtripled the amount of wool they produced.

The real boom in the sheep industry began justbefore the Civil War. George Wilkins Kendall,a newspaper reporter, set up a 5,000-acre (2,025-hectare) ranch east of Boerne. Although hehad problems with disease, drought, and NativeAmericans, he encouraged people to come toTexas to raise sheep. Sheep ranchers came fromNorthern states as well as from Europe.

After the Civil War, a growing demand forwool brought even more sheep ranchers toTexas. In the 1870s ranchers west and north ofSan Antonio began to acquire large herds.

Ranchers who raised sheep faced the hostilityof cattle ranchers and farmers. Cattle rancherscomplained that sheep cropped the grass tooshort, ruining the range. Farmers claimed thattheir crops were trampled. Ranchers and farm-ers began to fence in their lands to protect them.

Barbed Wire Ends the Open Range

By 1873 several inventors had perfected different kinds of barbed wire fence. Smallbarbs that were twisted on the wire fencingpricked but did not harm the animals whocame into contact with it. Barbed wire could bemade cheaply and installed easily. J.F. Gliddenwas the most successful inventor.

Sales were slow at first, but by 1880 barbedwire fences were built in several Texas coun-ties. Barbed wire, however, was a threat to lawand order for a time. Cattle and sheep raisersbegan fencing their land, sometimes enclosing

the land of others. Some ranchers cut off thewater supply to other ranchers’ herds. Fence-cutting wars between farmers and rancherssoon followed. Ranchers who owned no landbut depended on open country for rangelandalso participated in the fence cutting.

Restoring law and order required greateffort. In Coleman County, landowner MabelDay led the fight against those who strippedoff the wires and broke the posts of newly builtfences. Even the Texas Rangers found theirlaw-enforcement skills severely tested. They


Wagons in Sonora, Texas, are loaded with freshlysheared wool to be sold at local markets. As ranchingbecame more profitable, farmers and ranchers found

uses for barbed wire. Why didsheep ranchers face hostility fromcattle ranchers and farmers?

History

★★ SonoraSonora

• Large profits caused ranchers tooverexpand.

• Overgrazing ruined rangelands.

• Severe drought and blizzardsoccurred in the mid-1880s.

• Cattle prices fell.

• Ranchers forced to sell herds at low prices went bankrupt.

• Few cattle ranches survived.

Due to overproduction and weather, the huge cattle ranching industry in Texasdeclined rapidly in the late 1880s.

Making Inferences Why do you think some of the larger cattle ranches survived?

Causes and Effects of Cattle Ranching Decline

were often called on to protect the fences. In aspecial session, the legislature made fence cut-ting a serious crime, or felony.

By the mid-1880s most ranges in South andcentral Texas were fenced. Panhandle and NorthTexas ranges rapidly were being enclosed aswell. Windmills, which pumped water fromwells, helped to make fenced pastures possible.Earlier the cattle had to be driven to water holes.

Identifying Who was the most

successful inventor of barbed wire?

The Ranching Industry Declines

The ranching industry declined rapidly in thelater 1880s. The large profits earned for severalyears had led ranchers to expand and producetoo many cattle. Too many cattle meant thatrangelands were ruined due to overgrazing.Surplus cattle also caused prices to fall.

Even nature seemedto turn against Texasranchers. A number ofsevere blizzards andlong droughts causedmany ranchers to selltheir herds. Rancheswere divided intosmaller units or sold asfarmland. Many ranch-ers went bankrupt.

Nevertheless, some large cattle ranches prospered—the King Ranch in South Texas andthe Matador, Pitchfork, 6666, Spur, Spade, andWaggoner Ranches in northwest Texas.

Ranching became more dependent on scien-tific and modern management techniques. Here-ford, Angus, Shorthorn, Brahman, and otherbreeds of cattle replaced the rangy longhorn.Many modern ranchers today depend on com-puters to assist them in their ranching operations.

Cultures Meet in the Ranch Country

People of many cultures met and mingled in thedusty ranges of West and South Texas. MexicanAmerican vaqueros were found most often on theranches of South Texas. Some large ranches, par-ticularly on the land between the Nueces Riverand the Rio Grande, were held by MexicanAmericans. Hipólito García’s Randado Ranch inJim Hogg County supported 25,000 cattle on80,000 acres (32,500 hectares). The present-daytown of Randado is situated on land that was oncepart of Garcia’s spread. Macedonio Vela’s LagunaSeca and Dionisio Guerra’s Los Ojuelos holdingswere two additional ranching operations of signif-icant size owned by Mexican Americans.

Mexican Americans also did much to makesheep raising possible. Most of the shepherds, orpastores (pahs•TOH•rays), were MexicanAmericans. Practically all of the shearers, or tasinques (tah•SEEN•kays), who cut the wool

TEXASHISTORY

Student Web

Activity Visit thetexans.glencoe.com Website and click onChapter 18—Student

Web Activity to learnmore about barbed wire.


http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe31.php?&st=673&pt=2&bk=20

from sheep, were also of Mexican heritage orfrom Mexico. Many sheep ranches were ownedby Mexican Americans.

African Americans also participated in theranching industry. Cattle drives sometimes in-cluded African American cowhands and trailbosses. Daniel Webster “80 John” Wallace wasan African American who began life as a slave,became a trail boss, and eventually owned hisown ranch near Colorado City. “Bones” Hookswas a pioneer African American cowhand inthe Panhandle. Bose Ikard, an African Amer-ican, was a skilled cowhand who worked forCharles Goodnight.

People of German ancestry established pros-perous ranches in the Hill Country of Texas. Inaddition, because of the cattle-raising tradition intheir homelands and the British consumer’s loveof beef, English, Scottish, and Irish investors usedtheir fortunes to establish ranches on the HighPlains and nearby rangelands.

Women Ranchers

Life on the ranching frontier was not only formen. Women worked with their husbands to settlethe frontier and build ranches. They faced isolationand loneliness as they performed chores in thedry, dusty environment. In addition to perform-ing ranching duties, many women would main-tain a household garden. They would preserveand store the fruits and vegetables harvested fromthese gardens for use throughout the year.

Some women were indepen-dent ranchers. Elizabeth Johnson Williams was an experienced rancherwhose knowledge of cattle and cattletrading was widely respected. She raisedher own large herd andhad her own brand.Molly Goodnight sharedlife with her husband in adirt-floored dugout in the early days of the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon.Her nearest neighbor was 75 miles (121 km)away. Henrietta King carried on the develop-ment of the King Ranch after her husband’sdeath. Margaret Heferman Borland ran her ownranch and owned over 10,000 head of cattle.

Some women actually rode the cattle trails.Experienced ranchers such as Amanda Burksand Mary Taylor Bunton drove their own cattlealong trails to Kansas.

Mexican American women had their own longhistory of ranching. Doña María del CarmenCalvillo was one of Texas’s earliest ranchers.Men and women of many cultures contributed tothe ranching heritage of Texas and are remem-bered as pioneers who opened the West.

Summarizing How did the ranches

contribute to the cultural diversity of Texas?


1. Using Key Terms The TexasRangers had trouble protectingfences. Use the term felony in asentence to explain the problem.

2. Reviewing Facts List two reasonsfor the decline in cattle prices.

Reviewing Themes

3. Continuity and Change How didMexican Americans contribute tocattle and sheep ranching?

Organizing to Learn

4. Charting Information Create achart like the one shown and fill inthe missing information.

Critical Thinking

5. Drawing Conclusions How didthe invention of barbed wire affectthe development of Texas?

Summarizing Reread the passage onpage 420 about the method BobLemmons used to catch mustangs. Tellabout his method in your own words.

Ranch Owners Ranch Name Acreage

Henrietta King, 1 millionRobert Kleberg

JA

Thomas Bugbee 450,000

Hipólito García

CHAPTER 18 Ranching & Farming 423

Margaret H. Borland


Cotton continues to bethe major crop in Texas

Farming Afterthe Civil War

Guide to Reading

Main Idea

The Texas farming industry expandedafter the Civil War.

Key Terms

dry farming

tenant farmer

sharecropper

Reading Strategy

Identifying Key Factors As you read,decide how the following factors influenced the development of farming in Texas.

Read to Learn

• why dry farming was significant.• why cotton was “king.”• what hardships farmers faced.• how two new systems of farming

replaced slavery.

Section Theme

Science and Technology Therailroads made an important impact on farming.

Texas and Pacific Railroad laystracks in west central Texas

Preview of Events

African American cowhand Tom Mills describes every cattle drover’s fear—a

stampede. “Mr. Rutledge says, ‘Now, when that old steer grazes off tonight, I’ll

cut ’im off from the herd and you ride in and rope ’im’ . . . Well, the old steer

grazed off as usual . . . and outrun Mr. Rutledge to the herd. [T]hat old steer run

in on top of [the cattle] and stampeded ’em. Away they went! . . . Mr. Rutledge

told me to keep it quiet what started them cattle to runnin’ and we never did tell

what did it.”

✦1882 ✦1900

Factor Effect on Farming

Cheaper land

Dry farming

Drought

Railroad system

Farming on the Rise

After the Civil War ended, thousands of settlers pushed west in searchof more and cheaper land. Farmers who moved to the drier parts of WestTexas discovered that with the use of new techniques, they could

A cattle stampede

produce profitable crops. Windmills pumpedwater from underground sources up to the sur-face for livestock and household use. A methodof farming known as dry farming spreadthroughout West Texas and the Panhandleregion. Dry farming used a manner of plowingthat left loose soil on top of the ground. Thelayers of loose soil kept water in the ground byslowing down the rate of evaporation.

Railroads also quickened settlement by encouraging farmers to settle along their routes.Within a year after the Texas and PacificRailroad laid its tracks through west centralTexas in 1881, the towns of Abilene, Sweetwater,Colorado City, and Big Spring were encouragingfarmers to settle on nearby lands. Amarillo,Quanah, Childress, and Memphis—because ofthe Fort Worth and Denver Railroad—alsobecame farming centers before 1890.

Texans Rely on King Cotton

The most important crop grown in Texas wascotton. The typical Texan in the late 1800s wasnot a rancher but a cotton farmer. In most yearsthe value of the cotton crop in Texas was largerthan the combined value of all other cropsgrown. In the year 1900alone, production of cot-ton on Texas farms sur-passed 3,500,000 balesfrom nearly 7,200,000acres.

The cultivation of cot-ton had spread rapidlythroughout the state. InSouth Texas, Proceso Martínez introduced cottonto the Rio Grande Valley. Martínez, a leader inbusiness and agriculture, also brought the firstmodern plows and corn planters to the Valley.

As they did in the ranching industry, railroads played an important role in cottonfarming. As tracks were built westward, farmerswere provided with a cheap and efficient means

History

Rio Grande

Rio GrandeValley

Cotton bales are piled high on rail cars in this Houston train station before heading tomarket. What does this photograph suggest about cotton production in Texasaround 1900?

Houston★Houston★

of getting their cotton to market. Better access tomarkets offered the chance of higher profits.

Other crops were valuable to the economyof Texas, too. Before the end of the century,Texas led the entire nation in honey produc-tion. Farmers also grew sugarcane and ricealong the Gulf Coast. Elsewhere, they plantedwheat, corn, and oats.

Not all farms flourished, however. Manyfarming families who came to Texas after theCivil War faced disappointment and failure.Many farmers did not succeed because theywere unfamiliar with the land of Texas, did notknow how to use the land properly, or did notknow what crops were best suited for the land.Hardships included swarms of grasshoppersand droughts. A great drought in the late 1800sruined many planters’ hopes. Even a good har-vest did not always mean a profit for the farm-ers. Cotton acreage expanded in India andEgypt, thus increasing the world supply of cot-ton. If there was a surplus of a crop, it couldresult in lower prices. Although many farmersfailed, they still paved the way for others whocame later and who learned from and profitedby their experiences.

Examining Why did many

farmers fail?

The Tenant System

Replaces Slavery

A new system of farm labor developed afterthe end of the Civil War, greatly affecting the livesof many Texans. Before the war, enslaved AfricanAmericans in East Texas produced a large part ofthe cash crops. After the war, many smaller farmsreplaced the vast plantations. Either these smallfarms were sold to new owners, or they wererented to tenant farmers. In return for a tenant’suse of land, the landowner usually received apart of the crop. Landowners who provided thefarming tools, seeds, and supplies would receivean even larger portion of the crop. Tenant farmerswho did not provide their own tools and sup-plies were called sharecroppers. Sharecroppersreceived a share (usually one-half) of the value ofthe crop.

The tenant system was at its root an economicresponse to the lack of capital after the Civil War.Swapping labor for a commodity was in onesense a form of barter in an economy with toolittle money. The tenant system also had pro-found social as well as economic effects. Underslavery, men and women had often been forcedto work in large gangs. Sharecropping or tenantfarming meant an end to the evils of forced ganglabor. On the other hand, cotton required huge


In this 1907 photograph, asupervisor looks on as AfricanAmericans pick cotton near Dallas.What economic and socialconditions does this photographreveal?

History

★Dallas★

Dallas

amounts of labor. Most tenant and sharecropperchildren were put to work in the fields at a veryyoung age. A teenager was expected to do thesame amount of work as an adult. Cotton farm-ers talked about working “From Can See toCan’t.” They were not exaggerating.

Many tenant farmers were former slaves whoonce had worked on the plantations. Althoughsome African American farmers owned theirown land, most were sharecroppers.

Life for tenant farmers, especially for share-croppers, was difficult. Droughts, financial panics,overproduction of crops, problems with pests,and high charges by landlords often left tenantswith no money. As a result, it was difficult to suc-ceed financially. The system of sharecroppingoften put poor farmers into debt from which theywere unable to escape. Nevertheless, the tenantsystem expanded during these years. In 1870

about one-third of allfarmers in Texas weretenant farmers.

Whether landowner,tenant farmer, or share-cropper, these tillers ofthe soil brought some-thing to the west thatthe ranchers could notbring: large numbers ofpeople. Ranching simply did not require asmany people as farming did. As a result, thearrival of more farmers resulted in the develop-ment of many small towns. These would growinto communities with schools, churches, roads,and businesses.

Explaining Why were many

sharecroppers not financially successful?



1. Using Key Terms Using the termstenant farmer and sharecropper, tellhow these labor systems allowednon-landowners to make a living.

2. Reviewing Facts Identify theseven major cash crops producedin Texas at this time.

Reviewing Themes

3. Science and Technology

How did the arrival of railroadschange farming in Texas?

Organizing to Learn

4. Understanding Cause and Effect

The end of slavery changed thelives of those involved in farming.Create a web like the one shownand list how former slaves farmedand the difficulties that they faced.

Critical Thinking

5. Identifying Options Large planta-tions were too vast for one familyto manage by themselves. Withslaves set free, what options didthe plantation owner have to findnecessary laborers?

Analyzing What factors made farmingdifficult in Texas after the Civil War?

Farming

After Slavery

Types

of FarmingDifficulties

Sharecropper

Tenant Farmer

Land, tools, seed,work animals,credit for food andother supplies

Land

Labor

Labor, tools, seeds,work animals

1/2 of proceedsfrom sale of crop

1/4 of cotton,1/3 of grain

1/2 of proceedsfrom sale of crop

3/4 of cotton,2/3 of grain

Landowner Provides Laborer Provides Landowner Gets Laborer Gets

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming Compared

Based on Neil Foley, White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas Cotton Culture, U of California Press, 1997.

Comparing and ContrastingTwo common forms of farming inTexas after the Civil War weresharecropping and tenant farm-ing. Review the chart and deter-mine which system of farmingrequired a larger investmentfrom the laborer to start a crop.

Reviewing Key Terms

Use each of the following terms in separate newspaper head-lines as they might have been written in the late 1800s.

1. felony

2. open range

3. drive

4. wrangler

5. drover

6. mustang

7. ranchero

Reviewing Key Facts

8. How did Spanish cattle ranching first begin in Texas?

9. Explain why there was trouble between the drovers andthe farmers along the Sedalia Trail.

10. Trail drives were so successful that the supply of cattleexceeded the demand. How did this change the price ofcattle?

11. What did mustangers do with the horses they captured?

12. Why did sheep ranching increase after the Civil War?

13. Were most African American farmers sharecroppers ortenant farmers? Why?

Critical Thinking

14. Resolving Conflicts Fencing of land caused conflictsamong Texans. How were these conflicts resolved?

15. Science and Technology How did windmills contribute toranching and farming?

16. Economics Make a chart like the one below explaininghow each factor affected cotton farming.

17. Geography and Environment Why do you think droversfollowed the same trails year after year?

18. Supply and Demand The price of cattle in the North andEast was much higher than in the Southwest. How did thisaffect cattle ranching in Texas?

19. Drawing Conclusions What factors contributed to theend of trail driving?


Factor Effect on Cotton Farming

Overproduction ofcrop

Railroads

Ranching and Farming1800• Spanish missions in

Texas contain over 25,000 head of cattle.

• Ranching flourishes in South Texas through

the early 1800s.

1853• Richard King buys the

Santa Gertrudis land grant.

1866• Cattle drives start on the Sedalia

Trail. Other trails soon develop.

1870• One-third of all farmers in Texas

are tenant farmers.

• More sheep ranches are established because of growing demand for wool.

1876• Charles Goodnight and John Adair

establish JA Ranch.

1880• Many Texas ranchers use barbed wire

to fence their property. Fence-cutting wars follow until the state legislature

makes fence-cutting a felony.

1881• Texas and Pacific Railroad lays track

through west central Texas.

1885• Cattle driving drops sharply.

• A period of severe blizzards and droughts begins in the Great Plains and Texas.

1900• Cotton continues to be the most important crop

in Texas.

★

★

★

★

★

Geography and History Activity

Refer to the Texas Cattle Trails map on page 415 to answerthe following questions:

20. Which of the large cattle ranches was located the farthestsouth?

21. Which ranch was located nearest to a railroad?

22. The Chisholm Trail split north of the Red River, then bothtrails ended at towns on the railroad line. Name the towns.

Cooperative Learning Activity

23. Culture and Traditions Songs, poems, and tall tales(stories with unlikely happenings) were made up to passthe time on trail drives. With a classmate, create one ofthese and share it with the class. Look in the chapter orother books to get information about the trail you are fol-lowing. Include details in your piece. You may accompanyyour creation with music, movement, and/or visuals.

Portfolio/TAKS Writing Activity

24. Comparing and Contrasting Do you think farmers orranchers were more important to the development ofTexas? Support your answer with several reasons. Usestandard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, andpunctuation. Save this piece for your portfolio.

Building Technology Skills

25. Using the Internet or Library for Research Workingwith one other student, research one of the large cattleranches or ranchers mentioned in this chapter. Make alist of the types of information you find. Organize this intooutline form, as if you were planning a report. Now writedown a minimum of three interesting facts you discov-ered. As you work, keep a record of bibliographic infor-mation and/or URLs.

Practicing Skills

26. Making Generalizations Making generalizations allowsyou to use specific details and examples to form abroader picture of situations and events. Read the excerptbelow about the range wars, then answer the questionsthat follow:

The cattlemen who were determined to improve the quality of their herds soon strung miles of barbed wire. In fact, theyoften fenced not only land that they owned or leased, but also

public land that was supposed to be open to all. Some cattleraisers even fenced off small farms and ranches belonging toothers. In some places, fences blocked public roads.

Farmers fenced their land to keep the cattle out of theircrops and away from precious water sources. Ranchers wereinfuriated to find fences blocking their access to pasturageand water for their animals.

—From the Texas Almanac

a. What generalization can you make about why ranchersand farmers fenced off land?

b. What generalization can you make about the role ofwater in the range wars?


Self-Check Quiz

Visit the texans.glencoe.com Web site and click onChapter 18—Self-Check Quizzes to prepare for the chapter test.

TEXAS HISTORY

Use the quote to answer the following question.

Journal of Amanda Burks“We camped a long time in Fort Worth, waiting for the Trinity River to fall low enough to cross our cattle.I counted 15 herds waiting to cross.”

Which of the following was probably true about AmandaBurks?F She drove cattle to market.G She was impatient and eager to cross the river.H She did not like camping.J She was concerned about cattle prices.

Test-Taking Tip:

The correct answer to this question is not directly

stated in the quote, but clues in the quote will help

you find it. Reread the quote after you read each

answer choice. Ask yourself if the answer choice can

be true based on the clues in the quote. If there are no

clues in the quote that support the answer choice,

eliminate that answer choice.

http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe31.php?&st=673&pt=3&bk=20

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